The Left-Congress Alliance in Bengal Demonstrably Confused Voters

Conceived to work magic in the polls, the Left-Congress
alliance has come a cropper in West Bengal. And, leaving the two to lick their
wounds, Mamata Banerjee will once again waltz back to ‘Nabanna’, the seat of
administration in the state, with a thumping majority tied to the hem of her
‘saree’.

Besieged by issues of corruption in the pre-poll stage, the
TMC’s job was thought to have grown doubly difficult when the Left and Congress
chose to ally – or did it? The Left-Congress alliance’s dismal poll
performance, however, tells a different story – the people rejected the
alliance.

While the Left-Congress alliance did relatively better in
the 76 seats of the seven North Bengal districts and Murshidabad, which are
traditionally pro-Left or pro-Congress, the alliance put up a poor show in the
South Bengal districts, which practically took them off the race.

Why Did the Left-Congress Pact Fail?

The factors that led to the alliance’s insipid show are
multiple. Irresolute from the start, the alliance partners lost precious time
temporising and by the time the alliance gained a semblance of momentum, the
second phase of the polls were already through. The TMC had stolen quite a
march by then.

Differences within the Left Front constituents over relinquishing
seats to honour the proposed alliance sent the RSP and Forward Bloc in a sulk,
so much so, that the two Left constituents chose to field their party
candidates in several seats of North Bengal and Murshidabad despite the
presence of alliance candidates, ruining the alliance spirit even before it
took off. It took its toll.

Lack of sincerity among the alliance partners in collective
campaign, absence of transfer of votes as is clearly manifested in the results,
failure to articulate the multiple issues of corruption the Mamata Banerjee
government was encumbered with are other crucial factors that went against the
alliance’s poll prospect.

Conflicting Ideologies, Confused Voters

Organisational weakness is one issue the alliance partners
failed to address in the past five years. While the Congress’ vote share is
concentrated in three districts namely Uttar Dinajpur, Malda and Murshidabad,
the Left clearly has lost a lot of organisational ground in the state. The Left
seems to have ignored the point that when cadre-based organisations erode, they
virtually cave in. History stands testimony to this.

The acceptability factor is another crucial angle that did not augur well for the Left-Congress alliance. Historically and principally opposed to each, the Left-Congress poll bonhomie seems to have confused supporters of either parties more than attract them. The confusion has reflected in the voting pattern.

All this has hung a question mark against the future of the
alliance and a blame game cannot be discounted. In the postmortem the alliance
partners would certainly now conduct, they will have the unenviable task of
asking themselves - did the alliance help the Left and the Congress or, did it
actually hurt? Should they continue with the alliance in view of the 2019
Parliamentary polls or go their own separate ways?

Why the Left-Congress Alliance Fizzled?

Confusion persisted over a long period regarding
the alliance. By the time it was formalised, the second phase of elections were already
through.

Seat adjustment strategy also backfired with Left’s junior
partners, RSP and Forward Bloc acting as a spoilsport by fielding their own
candidates.

Different initiatives by the Mamata-led government resulted
in TMC winning 24 of the 54 seats in North Bengal, a traditional Left-Congress
stronghold.

Left-Congress
alliance also failed to project corruption as a major electoral issue.

Mamata Wave in Bengal

There was opposition and resistance on the alliance
proposal from hardliners in both organisations, but citing the need to weed out
Mamata Banerjee and by extension the TMC to “restore democracy in the state”,
the moderates had won the debate on forging the alliance. The hawks in both
organisations are by now readying themselves to extract their pound of flesh.

Conversely, the voters have clearly lapped up Mamata
Banerjee’s policy of dole politics. From making grants to neighbourhood clubs
to organising fairs, from distributing bi-cycles among school students to
financially aiding the girl child, the TMC government remained in constant
touch with the electorate and sold themselves well as benefactors in the run-up
to the polls. The resultant factor is showing.